


family reunion

by pangenderapollonian



Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Character with NPD, Drabble, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 10:51:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19294234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pangenderapollonian/pseuds/pangenderapollonian
Summary: Canach decides there's something he needs to do.





	family reunion

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of feelings about Canach. I hope I did his character some justice.

Everytime duty took him to the Grove, Canach tried to dwell there as little as possible.

It's not because he loathed the city, or even disliked being around his fellow sylvari. Rather, he hated how it managed to smother it's visitors in an atmosphere of naivety and goodness, how it served as a paragon of the values around which it had grown. It was a place of innocence and ignorance and optimism and peace - wherein people like him appear as obvious anomalies.

Of course, he _liked_ being noticed, but attention in this space functioned more as an outing of deviancy, rather than recognition of excellence. The Grove was not a place in which he wanted to stand out - lest he be reminded of how little he possessed the typical sylvari softness.

(At least traveling with Dragon's Watch brought some respite from that expectation. Those who had little experience with sylvari could not hold him to the standards he had no hope to meet.)

This time, as his boots sink into the grass and the great boughs of the Pale Tree tower above him, he thinks about how he hasn't seen her in what must be more than twenty years.

Not out of resentment. More than anything, he is _afraid_. He cannot possibly bear the thought of confronting her disappointment, of facing the reality that the hopes she had for him were shattered. In some ways, he is no better than those who have fully strayed from her. Perhaps it is better to pretend that he has.

How could he even begin to live up to her light, after all that he has done?

But facing what he fears is a crucial part of self-improvement. And he is trying. He may not be the archetype of the noble, compassionate sylvari, but he has come a long way since Southsun Cove. He has paid for his crimes, and now he channels his viciousness against those who threaten the world rather than those who are trying to protect it. He has people who trust him and who rely on him. Surely she, of all people, could recognize that.

He finds himself walking towards the Omphalos Chamber despite the twist in his stomach. Regardless of what she thinks of him, he tells himself this will help him find some closure for this festering wound that has been all but haunting him. The Commander would not run away from their problems. (But he is not the Commander.)

A warden gives him a look that makes him want to turn around and forget what he's doing, but he clenches his teeth and persists. He needs to do this. As he rides up to the chamber, he buries any expectations, fortifies his emotional walls, and tries to appear stoic.

He is terribly out of place, and the Pale Tree notices him immediately.

She whispers something to the sylvari next to her, and they nod and usher everyone else quietly out of the chamber.

They are alone.

She looks at him seriously.

“Come here.”

Canach shuffles toward her awkwardly, unsure of himself - and she places her hands on his shoulders, gazing at him with a warm smile. “ _I'm so proud of you._ ”

There is a beat of silence and he blinks, seemingly confused by her statement. “I-”

“You've been through much, but you've also grown. I couldn't ask for more from my child. Bettering your own nature is not as easy a task as one would think.”

“You're...proud of me? Truly? Even after -”

“Please don't fret, my son. You and I both know that past actions cannot overshadow the true character within one's heart.” She rubs his shoulders soothingly. “And I know that you have always tried to do what you believed to be the right thing. The same cannot be said about most who take the wrong actions.”

He fights back tears despite himself - how utterly _embarrassing_ \- and his mother cradles his face, wiping them away with her thumb gently. “Shh. Shh. It's okay.”

“I'm sorry that I haven't visited you. I thought that you…wouldn't want to see me.”

“I always treasure when my children visit. You will never be unwelcome here.”

"Thank you," he whispers, and he wraps his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Desperately. "I missed you so much, Mother."

Her embrace is warm, comforting, and full of love. Above all, it is truthful. "I missed you too, my child."

And he knows he can heal.


End file.
